


The Things You Said in the Dark

by Brightest_Moonstone



Series: The Trope Pit of No Return [3]
Category: Sly Cooper (Video Games)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-05-20 03:02:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14886416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brightest_Moonstone/pseuds/Brightest_Moonstone
Summary: “Okay Sly…” Bentley’s worried voice filled Sly’s ear. “Now remember these catacombs are infested with Siren Ghosts. They will imitate voices of people you care about to try and lead you astray.”“Bentley, Bentley.” Sly soothed cutting off Bentley’s rambling. “I’ll be fine, I’ve got you in my ear to give me directions and keep me safe. We’ll get through these tunnels, up into the keep, I’ll grab the loot and we’ll be eating pizza in the safe house before you can say ‘I always do my math right’.”





	The Things You Said in the Dark

“Okay Sly…” Bentley’s worried voice filled Sly’s ear. “Now remember these catacombs are infested with Siren Ghosts. They will imitate voices of people you care about to try and lead you astray.”

“Bentley, Bentley.” Sly soothed cutting off Bentley’s rambling. “I’ll be fine, I’ve got you in my ear to give me directions and keep me safe. We’ll get through these tunnels, up into the keep, I’ll grab the loot and we’ll be eating pizza in the safe house before you can say ‘I always do my math right’.”

Bentley made some more worried noise and Sly paused at the entrance to the catacombs, a damp, musty smell blew out on the breeze ruffling his fur. He peered for a moment into the tunnel, it was very dark and Sly found himself needing a moment to steel himself before ducking down into that darkness.

There was something supernatural about the dark, it closed around Sly and for a moment, he felt very alone, deaf and blind even the faint radiant starlight from the opening behind him was gone.

“Bentley?” He whispered only to be met with an answering crackle of static from his earpiece. A tremor of fear ran down his back. “Bentley are you there?”

“Sly? Sly, can you hear me?”

The rush of relief Sly felt made his legs shaky. “Yeah pal, I hear you. Thought I’d lost you for a second there.” He took a few more careful steps, the old stone wet and slick beneath his boots. “Glad I got you back, it’s definitely creepy down here.”

“I warned you didn’t I?” Bentley said. “Okay Sly what you’re going to want to do is continue forward five hundred meters and then take a left at the first junction you see.”

“First left got it.” Sly said moving forward. He wished he’d brought a torch, normally his Cooper abilities meant that he did not need a light source but with the oppressive dark suffocating and surrounding him, a torch would have been a welcome comfort.

Sly often found the dark to be peaceful, gentle, it was his natural environment as a thief after all but down here, it felt like the dark was trying to claw its way down his throat, seep through his ears into his brain. It was like an old friend betraying you.

And with each step he progressed, Sly for the first time in his life understood why people feared the dark. He had always laughed at that before, the idea that children were taught to fear the dark so that they would stay close to the light. So that others could watch and keep them to the rules, but Sly’s father had taught him that there was freedom in the darkness.

Not down here though.

Sly could feel his fur raised all over his body as he trembled on constant high alert, wary something might leap out at him at any second. He was grateful for Bentley’s directions and the reassurance of a friendly voice in his ear.

No wonder people went mad down here, even without the ghosts being lost and alone would break you pretty damn quick.

Sly wasn’t sure how long he was wandering for when he heard it, the sound of someone calling his name.

Sly’s head snapped around, “Carmelita?”

“No Sly.” Bentley cautioned. “These things imitate what you want most, whatever you’re hearing it’s not Carmelita.”

Sly rocked back and forth, forward or back… forward or back? “Bentley if she’s lost down here…”

“Sly do not stray from the path I give you. You’ll end up lost and lunch for psychic vampires.”

“Cooper? I know you’re down here.” Carmelita’s voice echoed strangely, bouncing off the walls back to him.

“Don’t you hear her?”

“I don’t hear anything because Carmelita is not down there.” Bentley said obstinately.

“If I just go back a little way and see…”

“No Sly. Do. Not. Do. That!”

But Sly was already off and running, keeping one hand on the wall so he couldn’t accidentally stumble down any turns he might have missed. He came to a junction, four pathways stretching out before him. “Carmelita?”

“Cooper?” Her voice called back, she sounded almost afraid.

Sly spun on the spot, where was she? Where, where, where? The sound was echoing seeming to come from everywhere at once. There! To the left, there was a flash of light. No way could a ghost fake that.

“Bentley, I’m taking a left.” He skidded on the wet stone, rushing toward that little glimpse of light he’d seen.

And then there she was, alive and in the flesh, staring at Sly in such a way that it seemed that maybe she was glad to see Sly too. “Cooper.” She said, putting up her shock pistol and directing her torch away from his face.

“Carmelita.” Sly grinned at her. “Good to see you,” he said and had never meant it more.

Carmelita came toward him closing the distance between them and punching Sly, really hard in the arm.

Sly jerked back. “Ow! What was that for?”

“Had to make sure you’re real. Also what the hell? What are you doing down here? I’ve chased you through some pretty awful places but this takes the cake.”

“Gotta do what you gotta do.” Sly said rubbing his arm, girl had a mean right hook. “Honestly though I’m not keen on it either, wanna get out of here?”

Carmelita drew back glaring at him suspiciously.

“What? It’s not like I’m going to leave you down here and I can’t exactly take you on the heist with me so I say we call time out. We get the heck out of here and then once we’re free and clear of the creepy tunnel and the ghosts that want to feed on our psychic energy we can resume our regularly scheduled programing.”

Carmelita’s eyes darted around briefly at the mention of ghosts but quickly returned to Sly’s face and she continued to glare.

“Unless you’d rather stay down here?” Sly spread his arms out at the all-encompassing dark.

“Fine.” She said finally.

“And you might want to put the gun away, don’t know how much use it’ll be against ghosts.”

Carmelita hummed, “you’re probably right.” She holstered her shock pistol. “In fact I think these might be much more helpful.” Then faster than blinking, she produced a pair of handcuffs and cuffed the two of them together.

Sly stared down at his wrist, _ooh she was good. Excellent reflexes, she’d make an excellent pickpocket_. He rattled the cuffs, “please tell me that this is to stop us from getting separated and you’ll take them off when we get to the surface?”

“We’ll see.” Carmelita said shortly, walking a few steps away and tugging Sly with her. She looked over her shoulder at Sly, “do you have any idea how we’re going to get out of here? I didn’t realise what a labyrinth it was down here when I followed you in.”

“Bentley will get us out.” Sly said confidently. He took Carmelita’s hand, may as well make the best of the situation. “This isn’t so bad is it?”

Carmelita gave him a very unimpressed look, “that is not how I’d describe this particular circle of hell no.”

Sly chuckled and tapped his earpiece with his free hand asking Bentley for directions back to the surface. The operation was a bust and Sly was technically in handcuffs but, he thought as he swung Carmelita’s hand in his heading back the way he’d come, why sweat the small stuff?

 

Even with Carmelita’s torch, the dark clung around them, cloying and invasive. Sly had never thought he would find himself looking forward to sitting in the sun so much, but when he got out of here the thing he was most looking forward to was finding a patch of grass and basking.

“Tell me about these ghosts.” Carmelita demanded, torchlight sliding across the walls.

“Siren ghosts.” Sly said. “According to Bentley, they’re malicious spirits that feed on psychic energy and emotions. They mimic voices to lure in their prey.”

“That sounds awful… why are you down here again?”

“Can’t let you in on all my methods ‘Lita, I need to keep some mystique about me.”

“Plausible deniability you mean.”

Sly laughed but it didn’t echo back to them, the darkness seeming to swallow the sound and he fell into an uneasy silence.

“Are we going down?” Carmelita asked. Sly felt her wobble as her boots slipped on the slimy stone.

Sly steadied her, indeed noticing the way the ground beneath their feet began to slope. “Huh…” He said. “Yeah I think we are. Hey Bentley, Bentley?”

“I can’t believe you got communication down here.” Carmelita said absently, she put a hand on the stone to brace herself and drew back in revulsion, shaking off her fingers. “Ugh. My radio died the second I crossed the threshold.” She continued, wiping her hand on her pants.

Sly stopped so abruptly that Carmelita crashed into him. No, no it wasn’t possible. He whipped his earpiece out and held it out to Carmelita with trembling fingers, “here do you hear him?” He whispered, pleaded.

Frowning Carmelita took the earpiece and tucked it into her ear tapping it gently. “Hello?” She cast a pale, worried glance at glance at Sly. “Nothing.” She said shaking her head, “there’s nothing. It’s just static.”

Sly went cold, tricked, tricked, tricked, fooled. He’d laughed, he’d been so confident. He’d been warned, told, and cautioned and he’d still fallen for it all hook, line and sinker. He gripped Carmelita’s hand tighter, “I’m sorry.” He said. “I’m so, so, sorry. We’re going the wrong way, I’m sorry. We’ve got to…”

Then as if becoming aware of the fact that they had been cheated out of a meal the denizens of the tunnels began to howl.

Sly and Carmelita both flinched from the noise, huddling together, ducking instinctively. Frozen, the two of them stared as transparent, green tinged claws stretched out from the walls, spectral fingers reaching, grasping. 

Exchanging a wide-eyed look Sly and Carmelita ran.

 

“Sly… Sly wait!” Carmelita yelled stumbling as they fled. “We can’t… we’re going to end up more lost.”

“Lost is the least of our worries right now.” Sly yelled back.

The two of them dodged between yet more and more of those reaching hands as they appeared from all angles. They hastily altered course as the tunnel they tried to flee down was suddenly filled with skeletal, ghostly forms. They didn’t resemble any particular kind of animal, more like pieces of dried hide stretched over bones.

“Sly stop, stop, wait. I think they’re herding us.” Carmelita pulled to a halt nearly yanking Sly off balance. She spun pulling out her shock pistol, “worth a try.” She muttered.

Sly felt the familiar crackle of electricity raise his fur as Carmelita let off a shot, it passed harmlessly through the ghosts drifting behind them. Carmelita swore, violently.

Sly yelped taking a few swipes with his cane at another reaching hand and rictus grinning face. “C’mon we need to get away from here.”

They ran again, Carmelita deliberately ignoring the tunnels that the ghosts left temptingly empty instead bulling through passages thick with those pale green reaching hands, they ducked and slid, weaving perilously, desperate to escape. 

Sly jerked his head as cold fingers brushed against him and tried to tug at his clothes, he struck out blindly with his cane, swiping and slashing around him.

“Watch it.” Carmelita said ducking her head.

“Sorry, sorry.” Sly said breathlessly.

The two of them skidded to a stop at a four-way junction, the howling around them dying abruptly.

“Have they stopped?” Carmelita asked torchlight flashing down each of the tunnels before them.

“I don’t know…” Sly panted then one of his ears twitched, he could hear his gang calling for him. They had come to find him, he tried to set off at a run the chain of the cuffs snapping taught, and Carmelita grabbed his arm pulling him back.  
“Sly, wait...”

Impatiently he tried to shake her off, “Bentley and Murray are down here, they’re lost. They’re looking for me.”

“No Sly it’s a trick.” Carmelita dug her heels in. “They wouldn’t just come down here and wander blind would they?”

Sly grit his teeth trying to think rationally over the all-consuming wave of emotion. “No.” He ground out. “No they wouldn’t.”

Still furious that their prey was resisting the ghosts began to scream, piercing and shrill. The sound bouncing off the walls, inescapable and loud, so very loud.

Sly dropped to his knees, covering his ears with his hands but the sound wasn’t in his ears, it was in his brain. He heard his gang calling for him, lost and desperate. He heard his mother screaming as she died. He heard his father begging for help. Sly began yelling aloud himself, a futile effort to try to drown out the noise. He felt Carmelita throw her bodyweight on top of him, arms wrapped around his head.

“Fight it Sly, it’s not real, it’s not real.”

They were calling for him, what kind of friend would he be, what kind of son would he be if just left them down here to die, alone in the dark?

“Not real.” Sly managed with great effort. “Not real.” He was shaking under the strain. “Not… real.”

The noise reached a wailing, screeching crescendo and then changed, if Sly would not run toward what he loved, then he would flee from what he feared.

Clockwerk’s discordant, modulated voice filled Sly’s head.

“No…” Sly whispered.

**[You will die here]**

“Please…”

**[I will destroy you but first, I will destroy your pathetic little friends. I will destroy _her_ and make you watch]**

“Sly? Sly stay with me. It’s a lie none of it is real. I’ve got you.”

Clockwerk continued threatening and mocking and Sly squeezed his eyes shut, not real. Clockwerk was gone. 

Dead.

Sly had watched the parts disintegrate into so much dust, and it had been Carmelita who had done that. In that moment of beautiful irony a policewoman had saved his thieving family and their legacy.

And it was Carmelita saving him now. Her voice in his ear and the weight of her against him, grounding him, keeping him sane, keeping him safe. He fisted a hand in the fabric of her jacket, clinging to her like a drowning man clinging to a buoy.

Sly took in a shaky breath, Clockwerk was a dead and couldn’t hurt Sly or anyone he loved ever again. He knew his parents were gone, that his brothers were not down here. What he was hearing. Was. Not. Real!

And just like that, the screaming died as if the ghosts had simply run out of voice and the all-encompassing darkness eased. It didn’t lift completely but it was suddenly much more the gentle, peaceful dark that Sly was used to.

Both Sly and Carmelita raised their heads blinking,

“Is it over?” Carmelita asked looking around. “Are they… are they gone?”

Still shaking and wobbly Sly got to his feet, “I think… so?”

“Did they give up?” Carmelita stood beside him supporting him.

“Maybe they can’t feed on us anymore because we shook their influence?”

Almost unconsciously, Carmelita slipped her hand into Sly’s. “I hope so.” She lifted her torch once more and looked at Sly. “Now what?”

Well they were still trapped, and now they were more lost than ever but at least there weren’t angry ghosts trying to eat them anymore.

“I guess we start walking.” Sly said swinging Carmelita’s hand gently in his.

Carmelita looked around them, “is that a good idea? We might end up wandering down here forever and end up just as dead as if the ghosts had gotten us.”

“Better than just standing here…” Sly trailed off, cocking his head to the side one ear twitching. “Do you hear that?”

Worryingly Carmelita didn’t confirm the mysterious sound for several endless seconds and Sly felt a rush of panic flood him, then she nodded. “Yes, what is that?”

As it grew louder, Sly had an inkling of what the sound might be but dare not voice it lest his tentative hope die. He led them to the mouth of the nearest tunnel, bracing a hand on the stone he stared into the dark. God he hoped he was right.

“Please.” He whispered.

The sound continued to grow until one of Bentley’s RC cars zoomed into view. Sly let out a great crow of triumph as the little car drove several enthusiastic circles around their feet.

“Oh…” Carmelita’s ear flicked and she took out Sly’s earpiece and offered it back to him. “Here, it’s for you.”

Sly slipped the earpiece back in, “Bentley?”

“Sly!” Bentley yelled, he sounded about as relieved as Sly felt. “You’re alive. I was so worried when I lost you when you entered the catacombs and then suddenly the GPS for your binocucom came back online and I sent the car…”

Sly smiled, it was good to have the real Bentley back in his ear. “Hey pal,” he said gently interrupting the babble. “It’s a long story but I found Carmelita down here, I’ll explain everything when we’re topside. Can you guide us out? I’ll be in contact if anything goes wrong.”

“Okay Sly.” Bentley said. “Stay close.”

“Will do, see you guys outside.” Sly muted the comm and looked at Carmelita grinning. “Now we start walking.”

 

Following Bentley’s little green car Sly and Carmelita began the slow trek back toward the surface.

“I need to thank you.” Sly said.

“For what?”

“For before, when the ghosts were getting nasty. I would have been lunch if it weren’t for you. You kept me grounded. I could barely keep myself together but you managed to resist and help me. You’re incredible.”

Carmelita shook her head. “Don’t give me too much credit Ringtail, I don’t think we were hearing the same things.”

“Well I suppose it’d be different for each person, I heard Bentley and Murray and my parents.” Sly shuddered at the memory. “What did you hear?”

“Nothing. It was just noise and screaming until they tried to scare us, and then I heard Neyla, the Contessa and one of my old school teachers. But as I felt you going to pieces I remembered that Neyla is dead and the Contessa is locked up and they can’t hurt me… so I think… I think helping you helped me.”

“Oh.” Sly said. “What about your teacher?”

Carmelita snorted, “actually it wouldn’t surprise me at all if she was down here tap dancing on the devil’s chest but I’m not eight years old anymore. She has no power over me.”

“Neither do Siren Ghosts apparently.”

Carmelita shrugged, “they mimic what you want most right? Well you’re here so they had nothing to tempt me with.”

Sly felt a slow grin spread across his face. “Why Inspector Fox I had no idea that you felt this way.”

Carmelita frowned at him confused until she realised what she had implied. “NO!” She protested. “You’re not… I mean… I wanted you like this.” She held up their cuffed wrists, rattling the chain. “Like this.”

Sly wiggled his eyebrows. “Kinky.”

He then had the absolute delight of watching Carmelita Montoya Fox blush right to the roots of her hair, it was unexpectedly adorable and an image Sly planned to file away forever.

“I hate you.” Carmelita muttered sullenly.

“Even though I’m what you want most?” Sly laughed.

“I did not say that.” Carmelita said going shrill in her temper.

“It was implied.”

“One more word out of you Cooper and I’m going to ‘imply’ that my shock pistol meet your face.”

Trying to stifle his laughter Sly mimed locking his lips and throwing away the key. He also didn’t fail to notice that throughout the exchange Carmelita kept her hand firmly in his.

 

They emerged into moonlight and breathed a grateful breath of fresh air. Sly saw his gang come rushing toward them, he made a subtle gesture for them to hang back, and they pulled to a halt, keeping a safe distance.

He looked back to Carmelita, he needed to get out of these cuffs. He could pick the lock or steal the key easily enough he just needed a distraction. He could try the same trick from Russia, he’d get a kiss out of it but he doubted Carmelita would fall for a ruse twice.

It was a tempting thought though.

Then to Sly’s very great surprise Carmelita produced the key to the handcuffs and dangled it before him.

“I can hear the gears in your head turning Ringtail.” She tossed the key up and back down into her hand. “You want this?”

For a heart-stopping moment, Sly was worried that she was going to throw the key into the catacombs but instead Carmelita slid the key into the lock and undid the cuffs.

“I think we’ve both done enough running for tonight.”

“You’re letting me go?” Sly blinked rubbing his wrist, one foot already sliding back as he made ready to flee.

“A one time only offer.” Carmelita deliberately looked away up into the night sky. “Tonight was stressful enough without worrying about all the paperwork I’d have to do for your booking.”

Sly relaxed minutely. “Thank you Carmelita.”

Carmelita snuck a look back at him, offering a small smile then quickly narrowed her eyes. “I mean it.” She said. “I won’t do this again so don’t go getting any ideas.”

Sly laid a hand over his heart, “I promise you Inspector I would never dream of abusing you kindness in such a way.”

Huffing, Carmelita rolled her eyes. “Go on, get going. Your gang look like they’re about to go into conniptions.”

Sly cast a glance over his shoulder, “nah they’re fine. Bentley always looks like that.” He turned back to Carmelita, darting in to kiss her cheek. He’d steal something tonight after all. “Thank you again Inspector… for saving my life.”

Carmelita fell back a step she was blushing again. “You… you’re welcome.” She said and then purposefully gave him her back, one hand still pressed against her cheek.

Sly grinned running over to his gang, to say they were relieved was an understatement. Murray actually started crying, lifting Sly off his feet into a bone-cracking hug before he could be persuaded to make their getaway.

As they went, disappearing into the night Sly cast one last look back at Carmelita, still standing there her face tipped up toward the moon.

He felt his heart tug almost painfully, he’d thank her properly next time they met.

There was always next time.


End file.
